How to Assemble the Perfect Escape Room Squad
Escape rooms can be pretty tough. Whether you’ve made it through several, only made an attempt, or never tried one yet, some of the most challenging rooms (like our Outbreak Room, with only a 19% success rate) could stump you next time if you’re not prepared.
Of course, there are several ways to prepare for an escape room before you step in. Something people may not think of is having a balanced party teamed up to get the job done. Whether you want to show off your solo skills, or build up an Escape Room A-Team, this guide will help you find your strengths and the strengths of others to help you get through the game.
The Calculator
Every good escape room has at least one quick math puzzle. When the clock is ticking, and every second counts, it’ll help to have a team member who is quick with a calculator, or even better, mental math. The Big Escape permits cell phone use, so take advantage of your fastest typer/math wiz to get you through the easy math, and clue through some of the tougher stuff.
The Wordsmith
Word puzzles and riddles will come up just as often. Whether it’s double meanings or references to literature and media, The Wordsmith can come up with the right answer. Like Oedipus, they have the key words to get past the Sphinx and escape to victory. Have them focus their attention on seeking and solving written and spoken clues to get out before the clock runs down.
The Locksmith
We promise you won’t have to pick any locks, but it could still help to have a team member who’s quick with keys and various types of locks. Sometimes, figuring out which key goes to which lock is a puzzle itself! Having a Key Guy to sort through these types of puzzles may save your team minutes to seconds of fumbling with unfamiliar locks.
The Mascot
When the going starts to get tough, you’re going to need a someone in the squad to keep up morale and keep everyone on track. Your bubbliest and most optimistic friend may be the best choice for this party member. Keeping the squad motivated and confident in their teamwork will help you push through those difficult challenges, and help the team avoid looking at the countdown in despair as time ticks down.
The Finder
The Finder should be the most observant and detail-oriented member of your group. Their attentive nature can be utilized to quickly scan the room for patterns and half-hidden clues. This could save the team a lot of time when it comes to gathering all of the available information in a room, and figuring out what the next steps might be.
The Visionary
It can be tough to notice specific details in pictures and art, or to assemble pieces of clues visually. Visual clues like shape puzzles, mazes, charts or diagrams, or puzzles that involve the 3-D space of the room, would be The Visionary’s strong suit. This party member will save your team time and stress when it comes to more abstract clues in some of our most challenging escape rooms.
Now that you know how to best assemble your team, get them together for a Big Escape that breaks all the records! Can your team get through our Pharaoh Escape Room, with a 25% escape rate, and a 37-minute record for quickest escape? Perhaps the Clown Room is an easier start, with a 35% escape rate, and a 32:04 record for quickest escape. Or are you ready to rise in the ranks of the Outbreak Room? Book with us at The Big Escape in Downtown Silver Spring soon and set your team record!
